"It's just a matter of keep on keeping on," he said. "I'm looking forward to managing ... basically running the meetings."

Maturen often advocates for smaller taxes for his rural constituents. In 2009, he was the lone dissenting vote when the board
endorsed a countywide transit tax, which ultimately passed.

Maturen also opposed a proposed tax at
restaurants and bars to fund an arena in downtown Kalamazoo, while
Buchholtz was a
leading supporter. The board discussed the tax extensively in 2009
and 2010 but did not end up voting to put proposal on the
ballot.

In a letter to the Kalamazoo Gazette last year, Maturen compared the proposed event center to the Silverdome in Pontiac, which
sold for far less than the original cost to build it. "The No. 1 reason I will vote against placing the tax on the ballot
is that overwhelmingly my constituents have told me that they do not want to pay the higher tax," he wrote.